Go, you fighting ____! UND prepares to fill in the blank with new nickname

A plan has been established to select a new nickname and logo for the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, but UND students and alumni won't have a mascot to cheer for this year.

Forum Communications reports that at the second meeting of the newly-established nickname task force held Thursday, the group agreed to give the university's president a detailed document by year's end that will include a plan for the final selection of a new mascot.

Last month, the campus newspaper the Dakota Student said the 13-member task force was made up of alumni, student athletes, faculty and students.

“The timeline for the task force is fairly quick," said UND student and task force member RJ Morin. “We want to get a new name to UND and the students as soon as possible.”

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Even though the task force is not charged with coming up with a name, the task force may provide UND President Robert Kelley with nickname suggestions.

“I don’t think we need to pussyfoot around the fact that we might ultimately come up with, say, three to five nicknames to present to the president,” said committee co-chairwoman, Sheri Kleinsasser Stockmoe, a UND alumna.

The task force is meeting again on Friday to work on a plan of action.

Much of the attention about the name transition has surrounded UND's mascot-less presence at sporting events. Last April, Philly.com's coverage of the Frozen Four NCAA hockey tournament noted that UND was up against the Gophers, Eagles, and Dutchmen, but the players on the team were known "merely for the state from which they hail."